Lauren's bridal shower and Bob's birthday dinner

The bridal shower for Lauren was very fun.. it was a surprise right up until this morning, which is a very good thing. Had lots of fun, met some new people, and talked a bunch with friends. She saw her sister's car parked out front (where it wasn't supposed to be, by the way), and figured something was going on.

Also finally got Matt Good's new solo album Avalanche.. I heard the world premiere of it a few weeks ago (as detailed here), and decided I'd better get it while it was still on sale at Future Shop. Definitely a treat to myself, that one. :)

The dinner was quite small.. only five of us showed up. But that was small enough to allow for a lot of talk and getting to know each other. (granted, Bob and Brianna obviously know each other quite well.. but that's beside the point) Definitely had fun eating at the Indian place, as I'd never been there before. It's near the Frog & Firkin, which is a pub I went to once after Fellowship.. reminded my brother a lot of the pubs he'd been to in Scotland, except obviously not as smoky! (the air was thick and blue with it, he told us) Had a great time talking with people, especially Cheri.. hadn't seen her and Bob since my birthday dinner. Very much a good couple of days.

Oh.. and I'm not watching Primetime because I think I've seen the shows already. There's no Awana till Apr. 26, either. Best not to have it on for only one week before another one-week break, this one for Easter.. so that makes a total of five weeks off.

Newest trend in spam names

Is it just me.. or is the latest trend in spam really annoying? I mean the one where it appears to come from an actual person, only this person is someone with a REALLY dodgy name. (hopefully, ones which no self-respecting parent would EVER bestow on their offspring) Like "Goltham Goiter" or "Tambo Zelma" or some such weird name. Sure, the spam emails could come from people with reasonably normal names too.. but I can tell you one thing: I don't know anyone with that kind of dodgy name. No way, Jose.

Good vibes continuation

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELEN.. hope you have a good one! :) You've been a good friend to me over the years, and I hope Joe does something special for you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELVIN.. hope you have an awesome one! :) I have SO many memories of you from church, and look forward to seeing you and Evelyn when you come up from Seattle.. take care, my excellent friend.

Today will be a continuation of the good vibes / excellent headspace I've had for the past twelve hours or so.. I can feel it happening! But in order for me to feel even halfway up to celebrating both a bridal shower and a birthday all in one day, I must sleep. So to the person who told me to hang on because you were very distracted today: normally, I probably would.. you definitely know that. But just not tonight.. I am sorry! (tomorrow / when I get up, perhaps?)

Pho introduction, Down Under hair products, Oakridge

Managed to introduce Yazmine to Pho all right.. she said it was very good, and that I was introducing her to all the restaurants she should eat at. Eh.. maybe so, and maybe no.

Later, we decided to go to London Drugs. When I saw some "Down Under" shampoo and conditioner on sale for the next two days only, I just had to buy some. (it's the whole "Down Under" thing, y'know?) So now I have some kiwi shampoo / conditioner, and some papaya shampoo / conditioner. (no, it's possibly not authentic Australian stuff.. but I don't care :P)

Then we went to Oakridge.. it was quite the nice surprise to bump into her mother (of all the people) there at the mall. Definitely wasn't expecting that. Now, I'm just using the library computers to get caught up on email and such. (actually emailed two people I hadn't in some time.. these computers are way faster than my home machine, that's for sure!)

So yes.. it's been a nice day. (and no.. I'm obviously not going to Fellowship.. eh well, who cares if my attendance record is as spotty as a leopard's coat? :P)

Receptive mood for company

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAJI.. hope you have a good one! :) It was fun talking to you in school.. all those memories were fun.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TREVOR.. hope you have a great one! :) I think you and Phil are still good friends, and I hope you're taking good care of yourself.

Well, today I find myself in a more receptive mood for company. (thank goodness, because I'm meeting Yazmine in a few hours) After listening to Rufus Wainwright on endless repeat, my mood finally started to lift when the CD was through its seventh or eighth go-round. Yay for soothing music! :)

Definitely certain conversations I had last night helped too.. especially one that just managed to cheer me up. (heck, I actually laughed more than a bit.. read into that what you will) So to the people I was talking to last night.. you rock! (looking forward to tomorrow helps, as does the sunny weather)

BC's oldest resident

I was just reading Tuesday's Vancouver Sun (April 1), and came across an interesting blogspot-worthy article:

_______________________________________________
B.C.'s oldest resident, 107, was a citizen of the world

The oldest person in British Columbia has died at the age of 107.

Jean Piry was one of the rare people to live in three centuries, and two millennia. He was also a true citizen of the world. Born in Hong Kong, raised in Shanghai and a Vancouver resident since 1968, Piry was of Eurasian descent (his father was French, his mother Chinese) and was fluent in five languages -- English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Shanghainese.

His paternal grandfather, Pierre Piry, moved to China in 1865 and established the post office in Shanghai. He married a Chinese woman and had six children.. including Arthur Piry, Jean's father.

Jean Piry never knew his mother, who died during his birth. He was raised by his father's sister in Shanghai, back when it was an economic hub with a very cosmopolitan population.

During the First World War, he joined the French army (although he'd never lived in France) and was sent to Siberia to fight the Bolsheviks. Last year, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor medal by the French consul in Vancouver.

He lived through the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the Second World War, then lost his import-export business after Mao's Communists took over in 1949. But when he finally was allowed to leave China for Hong Kong in 1951, he rebuilt the business.. which he tan until he retired and moved to Canada.

In 1929, he married Sonia Gotfried, a young woman of Jewish and Polish descent. They had three children: Janet, Pierre, and Daniel.

His son Pierre moved to Canada in 1959 to study at the University of B.C., and the rest of the family followed him to Vancouver. For many years, Jean and Sonia had an apartment in the South Granville area.. but in 2000, they moved to the Royal Arch Masonic Home (in Champlain Heights).

Sonia died in March 2002. The couple were together for 71 years.

To put his long life into perspective: when Piry was born on Jan. 5, 1896.. the city of Vancouver was only 11 years old. China was still run by the Emperor Henry P'u Yi of the Ch'ing (Qing) Dynasty, and Queen Victoria was in her 59th year on the throne. Piry was born in the year gold was discovered in the Klondike, and the year of the first motion pictures.
_______________________________________________

Interesting stuff, that..
and he didn't just live in BC.. he lived in VANCOUVER. :P (hehehe)

42-year-old woman marrying a 14-year-old?!

Just read something in my email (which is working as normal now, thankfully) that totally disgusted me:

____________________________________________________
TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

A 42-year-old woman has married a 14-year-old boy -- legally -- the Mobile Register in Alabama reports. Daina Sancho, a mother of two, married Irwin Vincent O'Rourke III in Mobile County Probate Court on his 14th birthday. Alabama only requires a minor be at least 14 years old and that both parents sign a consent -- which the O'Rourke parents were willing to do. "If you've met the man of your dreams, why wait?" his father told the Register. Daina and I.V. said they tried hard to keep the marriage a secret -- not even planning to tell her 9-year-old daughter. "It is unusual, but it's nobody's business," she told the paper. "It's nobody's business who I fell in love with."
_______________________________________________

Now, that is sooooo gross.. in fact, I have just one word for that: bleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrkkkkk!!!!!!! (wasn't there some film out there called Barely Legal or something? if not.. this would be it right here)

Computer problems, Kemporalia

If I wasn't irritated before, I certainly am now. Just managed to lose 90 minutes of my time.. and for those of you wondering.. no, I do NOT suffer from multiple-personality disorder! (or whatever they're calling it these days) The computer decided to go even more haywire than usual, continually making whiny noises on about a zillion restarts.. amid very regular cursing from me. (which I really shouldn't do.. but my computer would try the patience of a saint, which I most decidedly am not!) Yup, I'd love to get a new computer.. primarily because anything would be better than this piece of junk. (though the piece of junk does work.. sometimes better than I'd expect it to.. but that time is NOT now)

When it got to ScanDisk, it found two completely new errors I'd never encountered before. Something about the file allocation tables having two copies on the hard drive, and that one copy was better than the other.. and then something about how the .swp file size was being misreported. I had no bloody idea what those were supposed to mean, so just clicked "fix it" .. didn't stop the whiny haywire crap bollocks for about 20 minutes afterwards, though. Right now, I've got IE script errors in Yahoo, of all things.. hopefully, I can check my mail without more crap going down.

Definitely hope this day gets better.... like I better find something to amuse me soon. As it is, I'm not fit company for anyone right now.. thus my "forbidding" status names on MSN and Yahoo. (can't do custom statuses for AIM, but hopefully people will get the idea) Of course, all this might change if you're one of a VERY few select people. (and right now, none of them are online)

It's funny, though.. this is the right mood for reading the Kemporalia for some reason. Seems to strangely suit my current mood.. weird, but I'll take it. (hehehe)

What dragon are you ? Water Dragon You love the ocean and you love the outdoors! So your best buddy should be an Earth dragon! :P

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Not really, but whatever. :P

Clandestine Internet love affairs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, G.. I hope you have a good one today! :) It's been cool getting to know you a bit better.

Okay, I've kinda made up my mind not to fash about the clandestine Internet love affair anymore. (or at least, pretend it doesn't exist, hehehehe) If it's not the person I'm thinking of, I'll have wasted certain feelings for nothing.. when they could be much better applied to stuff that righteously makes me mad. But if it IS.. well, guess I'll see what happens at that point. If any of you want to know how I'm doing, I've "got sand in my vajoina" .. and YES, it's a metaphor. (thanks to someone I know for explaining that to me)

Where is distraction to be found? Possibly in visiting certain sites I haven't in some time, updating myself on people's lives, and listening to excellent / angsty music all day (and night?) long on endless repeat at a reasonably high volume. (yup, the neighbors are going to love me.. mwahahahaha :P)

Which Pokemon are you most like? Ninetales You just won't take no for an answer, and get really mad when you don't get your way.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Long-distance Internet love affairs

Just heard of something going down the pipeline involving a secret love affair of sorts. Person A ("E") is known to me, and Person B has a secret identity (as of now, anyways). Fine with me.. but Person A has been withdrawing all the time so he can spend all his time with her. Understandable, I guess.. but then Person X told me that she played matchmaker between the two of them! And yes.. this is one of those (presumably long-distance) Internet love affairs that you hear so often about.. AIYOH!!!

As we all (hopefully) know, these Internet love affairs could result in true love.. who knows? Or it could just be an intermittent romantic relationship that fizzles out. (I won't tell you if I'm secretly hoping for this to happen.. MWAHAHAHAHA :P) Sometimes in the eyes of the couple involved, they work. I suppose I'm happy for them.. but the Net is such an ephemeral medium. Who's to say what will work, and what won't? (I know of a few long-distance relationships where the parties involved met through the Net, and that's fine..) Heck, the couple I'm meeting for dinner on Saturday (along with a bunch of others, also from the Net) met through the computer wires. That's excellent for them and for the others.. at least, it is for the couples I happen to like myself, of course. :P

So exactly why the hell is this getting me all riled up? It's not like I have a crush on Person A.. heck, he lives 3000 miles away! (never mind two long-distance Internet relationships I know where Couple A is separated by Melbourne and Florida.. and Couple B is separated by California and Amsterdam) Maybe it's because Person A hasn't been responding to ANY messages I leave him.. but has been to the messages of Person X (at least some of the time). So yeah.. you could say I'm jealous in a way. Maybe of the trust Person A has in Person X.. then again, if Person X set them up in a way, that's perfectly natural. Not sure it means I'm not trustworthy in myself or anything.. eh well.

I'm talking to Person X now, and she keeps telling me to search Person A's posts on a certain board we all frequent. Sure.. maybe after I finish venting / rambling. (but I'm not going to edit this post to reflect people's true identities.. I do have SOME respect for their privacy) Then again, if they're so damn secretive about it.. like, are they ashamed? :P They're probably waiting for a big, splashy announcement to be made.. in like a few weeks. Some of us, however, can't wait that long! (not because I'm nosy so much as I actually want to be in the loop.. I'm notoriously clueless to these things even in real life) Who knows if the secrecy / exclusivity hurts me as well.. it might. (I'm not sure it would in real life..) But it may be time to invoke something someone said to me once, and don't get involved in emotional hang-ups or dramas that exist only within the electronic ether of the Net. (he treats the Net as a "drama-free" zone.. and this advice will be SO heavily applied in this case, especially if E's "girlfriend" is someone I don't like) So if / when they FINALLY announce this.. will I act happy for them? I really have NO idea right now.. we shall see, and time will tell.

Makes me wonder why the hell I'm complaining, though.. it's not like someone will ever have that level of trust in me to say "oh yeah.. we're going out.. but don't tell anyone for at least a month.." anyhow! No.. it is NOT relationship envy, either. I'd rather my relationships be in real life.. though there doesn't seem to be much of a chance with that. Don't know why I feel like that (not sure I should, and I'm happy with my numerous friendships for the most part).. but if it's someone I heartily dislike, then all bets for acting happy are off. :P

Oh well, I'm rambling too much.. me go search now.

After searching, there are no real clues. But if it's the person I might be thinking of (ie. "M").. I don't know that I like her THAT much. Definitely there's no accounting for taste sometimes, though. Now to spend time with people who DON'T keep secrets from me.. coz THEY certainly rock! :P

Happy amusement!

I am very happy and amused right now..
that's all I gotta say..
so.. see ya round, kiddies! :P

Dear Kody...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PHIL! Hope you have an awesome day! :) Your friendship's always been much appreciated, and we should definitely continue to encourage each other! May you have rich blessings galore this year.. take care, and love ya! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPOZ! Hope you have a rocking one! :) It's been really fun most times, and I hope you're not quite so swamped. Although sometimes that can be a good thing.. but it takes away from the music, I know. Have fun this year, and take care.. luv ya! :P (and YES.. I had hot and sour soup for the both of us today.. the bubble tea will have to wait till later, maybe)

To a friend who may be reading this: I really hope things get better, although from what you've shared with me.. it might not anytime soon. If you need to talk, I'm here for ya.. all right?

Busy April weekend....

Seems I'll have a very busy weekend coming up:

Friday = hanging out with Yazmine, and hopefully introducing her to Pho / bubble tea

Saturday = Lauren's surprise bridal shower from mid-morning till mid-afternoon.. and then the birthday dinner for Bob (I'll get to meet a bunch of other Vancouver-area SDMB'ers, not least Bob's sweetie Brianna)

Sunday = church (of course), then possibly a birthday lunch afterwards at Earl's for Lily / Helen C. / Daniel (haven't decided if I'm going yet, as I will have spent a whole lot of money already by that point)

Of course, it is the time change weekend as well.. so everyone will be REALLY tired at church on Sunday! (losing an hour's sleep is never good) It'll certainly be fun, though! :)

Hot and sour soup

Just went out to get some hot and sour soup in honor of a certain upcoming birthday.. for those of you who don't know, you'll have to find out tomorrow. :P Also got me the new issue of Spin magazine.. I would have saved myself some time if I just went straight to London Drugs instead of trying Chapters / Save-On / 7-11. Oh well. (and I didn't even get a Slurpee!)

Definitely looking forward to reading the new issue, though.. it's "the ultimate list issue" and has the usual features. (also includes a free Eminem poster, which of course I'll put up on my bare walls.. even though it's Eminem)

Rock 101 Jake Edwards!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN.. hope you have an awesome day! :) I wonder if you went back to Hong Kong a few years ago.. wherever you are, I wish you only the best of blessings.

Okay, I only have 2.5 hours left to potentially be made a fool of. Luckily, it hasn't happened to me yet. Somehow, it's fitting that today is Brother Jake Edwards' birthday. Sounds like he's having quite the celebration in the Rock 101 studios, though. (those of you who listen to Rock 101 even occasionally will know what I'm talking about.. for the rest of you, let's just say that Jake's a very goofy DJ)

Joni Mitchell and same names

When you hear the name "Joni Mitchell," you think of the Canadian folk artist.. right? Well.. apparently, there is a country singer with the name Jonie Mitchell.. spelled with an "e" at the end, sure.. but it still sounds the same if we were speaking the name! Having the same first and last name (or a similar one) as a famous person probably isn't the best thing.. I know of examples, but couldn't begin to enumerate them now if I tried.

However, I do know first-hand that having the same (or a similar first and last name of someone else in school is a very odd experience. (especially considering that my "same-name" person was a GUY.. aiya!) But having the same first and last name as your neighbor, or someone else kinda close? That could get extremely interesting..

My distinctive feature is chewing gum?! / Disbelieving April Fools stuff

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEAH.. hope you have a rocking one, wherever you are! :) I remember when you and Shira came over once and asked if Jon was home.. you needed him to help you with math. That was a cool random memory..

I just saw my brother on MSN and asked him what kind of intro THAT had been: "Hahaha.. that's the most distinctive feature about you.. he'll remember you, trust me.." While I do want to be remembered, that is SO not true.. the most distinctive feature about me, my eye! Suppose Leo will now know where to go if he wants gum.. not that I don't want to share (I do that all the time), but what an introduction and reason for it.. aiya.

Tomorrow will be April Fools Day. I will disbelieve anything anyone says to me (depending on time zone) from about 6 AM today (midnight April 1 in Adelaide, I think) to about noon on April 1 my time. Fooling people is only supposed to last until noon, and I'm on the extreme left coast.. so no need to make it last throughout the whole day.. though maybe I should give it a couple hours' leeway just to make damn sure.

And I'd just like to state this for the record: I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH MATT GOOD. :P

Funny quotes and weird first introductions

Well, here they are.. the funniest quotes of the week:

HILARIOUS QUOTES OF THE WEEK (3)

"aren't decaplets.. twins born with no heads? no surprise you'd run riot with me mentioning twins [really octuplets and upwards] in a post, though.." -- Spoz, trying to figure out names for the highest of higher-order multiples.. and jokingly bugging me about multiples (Tuesday, March 25) [decaplets have nothing to do with decapitation, though I can understand why he might think that.. still, how can you be born with no head?]

"Just tell him: "Well, I'm surprised that an open-minded guy like you won't open your mind up to religious ideas.. are you afraid your mind will open up TOO much?" That'll work.." -- Karen to Dylan, jokingly suggesting a comeback to a guy who keeps telling him: "I'm surprised you're religious.. and you're such a logical guy, too!" (Friday, March 28)

"You must be up so early because you want to talk to Spoz.." -- Jon to me, trying to figure out why I'd be up at 6:30 AM after getting home at midnight. [in fact, I had a stomachache, and didn't sleep well even when I did go back to bed at 6:45.. Spoz had absolutely nothing to do with it :P] (Saturday, March 29)


Church was semi-interesting today. Little Nathan waved to me, and told me: "I'm Nathan, and I'm three!" Now.. I knew this already, but it's cool he's talking to me now. (in the past, he wouldn't really.. he'd try to hide) He's a cute kid, too. :)

Then again, my brother also chose to introduce me to somebody this way in the morning: "Hey, this is my sister [giving my name]. She chews a lot of gum, and remembers everyone's birthdays." Nathan and I were exchanging very bewildered looks.. What kind of intro is THAT?!? The birthday part, I can see after a more conventional introduction. (we've done that to a few people, most recently Danielle) But the gum part? While it may be true that I chew / give out a lot of gum, I'm not exactly sure that's material for a "first introduction".. Surely my own brother can come up with something more to the point than "she chews a lot of gum".. for example, "she really likes kids / reading" might do. My brother is one *weird* dude, I tell ya..

Religious studies essays / Primetime

Well, at least I seemed to have gotten a lot of sleep (almost nine hours.. woohoo!). My brother had to do a religious studies essay on the computer, so I went to bed after I watched Primetime! Among other things.. the show featured a worm-eating competition, the woman with the world's longest fingernails (261 inches combined), the man with the world's longest mustache (122 inches combined), the world's most active volcano, a Canadian "bubble master," the world's tallest hotel, some German dude who could solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded, and the Flying Wallendas' 8-person pyramid. Very interesting stuff..